All Who Wander
by SufferingSappho
Summary: Max is given two options on the cliff, and she chooses a third. In a strange twist of events, she is seemingly given a second chance to live in the timeline she wants, but the instruction booklet is not included. Can she and Chloe make sense of this new world they find themselves in, and can they find a way to be happy after all they've lived through? F/F Slow Burn. M for later.
1. No Good Deed

All Who Wander

By Jess Keller

Part 1: The Corners of the World Our Mere Prologue

Chapter 1: No Good Deed

Caulfield

This was it.

The winds howled as they rushed around her grasping desperately at the trees behind her, earning load groans at their resistance.

The rain was so thick and the clouds so dense that the lighthouse and its beam were but a distant memory in a demented psyche.

However, Max Caulfield didn't see or hear any of this. Not right now. Right now, it was silent. There were no winds or rain, or giant vortex threatening the town that had housed everything she had ever loved.

Right now, the whole world wasn't about to end.

Just hers.

The girl in front of her, her best friend, stood towering over her, a lighthouse in her own right, expectant eyes boring holes into Max's.

"Max…It's time." Chloe said solemnly.

The girl had laid a choice at Max's feet, a final chance to stop the madness ensuing in front of them.

Max knew Chloe knew the gravity of what she was offering to sacrifice and scanned the bravery the older girl had pulled together over her face, like a patchwork quilt of every experience that had ever hardened her, but Max could see the fear tugging at the threads. Max had finally gotten Chloe back, and everything she still needed to say to her clawed at her throat like parched devils at the mouth of hell. This wasn't fair, no one could expect her to throw this away. She'd never asked to be a hero, she just wanted to be with the person she-

Max's ears rang as suddenly as she again became aware of the threat approaching Arcadia Bay.

She had to move now, or there wouldn't be a choice to make.

Arcadia Bay had been her home for 13 years before she abandoned it. She owed it so many debts. She had used most of the gift she'd been given to help repair the rusting coastal town. From distributing pamphlets to protect its beaches to brightening the days of its inhabitants. It all seemed so futile now.

Why was this happening. Rage built inside Max and she looked back to Chloe, whose courageous mask was beginning to fail her in the presence of the storm.

She couldn't sacrifice Chloe.

Chloe meant everything to her and she'd save her at all costs.

She looked back at Arcadia Bay.

This was their home, they'd earned the chance to live in it. They'd all earned a chance to be happy.

She looked down at the photograph in her hand, her last tie to the past. She hesitated a moment and then ripped it in half, letting the pieces dance freely in the gust.

"No." Max said dryly.

"W-What are you doing?" Chloe stammered as she scrambled in vain to catch the pieces.

The world had taken too much from them. From her, from Chloe, and from this town. She wasn't going to let it make her choose.

"Max! You can't do this, you have to-"Max interrupted her by crashing her lips against Chloe's, mimicking the force of the gale around her. She felt as if time had stopped, a feeling that she knew well by now, but this was different. She felt as though everything else, no matter how scary, would dissolve in the presence of this moment. Like time itself had eroded under its pressure.

But, the moment had to pass, there was much to do.

Max looked down at the hand she'd used to control time itself and then used it to firmly grip Chloe's trembling hand. She looked up and made eye contact with Chloe.

"Max…I don't-"But in Max's eyes was a fire that spread over Chloe, turning her doubts into compliant trust.

Acknowledging this, Max turned her attention to the storm once more. She walked, dragging Chloe along with her, to the edge of the cliff, the storm in spitting distance of them, testing their balance.

"Do you trust me?" Max yelled over the roar, facing Chloe.

Chloe's eyes flickered to the vortex and then back to Max. She nodded.

Max locked eyes with the eye of the storm and then channeling everything she had into the palm of the hand clasped tightly in that of her source. She slowly, and powerfully raised their joined arms towards the swirling winds and met Chloe's eyes one last time, reading the words they both wanted so desperately to say in one another's pupils.

With that, they stepped forward.

Price

Chloe found that she didn't know what was happening most of the time in recent days. She relied on Max more than she cared to admit to keep her updated on this whole, sci-fi, superhero, Groundhog Day shit. Looking over to see Max sharing her same, dumbfounded expression, did not reassure her in the slightest.

They were standing in a white, empty space. It was silent. The memory of the wind and rain still echoed on her skin, but the room was still. The lighthouse, Arcadia Bay, and…well anything, was nowhere to be found.

Max started to feel blindly in front of her.

"So, this is freaky right? Like even for us freaky?" Chloe asked.

Max was still feeling around.

"C'mon, Max, really feel like I'm having a bad trip over her, dude." She tried again.

"Oh, sorry." Max said, snapping back to her, "I-I don't exactly know either, Chloe."

"Well, what did you do, what was that whole thing with the, hand holding, and getting ready to base jump, and the ki-" Chloe stopped abruptly. That was right. Max had kissed her.

Chloe was surprised even nearly dying had made her forget about that.

Or…maybe she _had_ died, and this was limbo?

That sent a shiver down her spine.

"Heya, Max, you don't suppose we…" Chloe began.

"We what?" Max asked, still examining their surroundings.

"You know…" Chloe tied an inviable noose around her neck and let her head fall limply to the side, making a "blech" sound to solidify the pantomime.

"No…at least I don't think so." Max said, this time examining her own body as if to authenticate its existence.

"Well, what do you suppose we-"Chloe was interrupted by a loud _SNAP_ that she recognized immediately as a shutter click from the time she'd spent in Max's presence. She and Max both jumped and looked around for the source of the noise but only saw a large portrait materialize next to them.

Chloe recognized herself in the photo and, to her dismay, Nathan Prescott. What was most noticeable, though, was the giant, gaping bullet hole in her abdomen. She instinctively covered her own stomach and inhaled through her teeth.

 _Yeouch._

She had heard about this unfortunate circumstance form Max before, but this was the first time she'd had to confront it head on.

 _SNAP._

Another shutter noise, again startling the two girls who swiveled around to see another portrait materialize.

This one was also of her, but she didn't recognize herself. She was hooked up to a bunch of tubes and wires. She looked like she was sleeping. Max stood over her, crying.

Max had told her about this one, too. She still didn't know what to feel about it.

She was torn from her thoughts by the sound a voice.

" _It's okay. You're going to be okay."_

The voice sounded like it was speaking inside her skull, and not out loud, but it looked like Max could hear it, too.

 _SNAP._

Another Picture, Max reaching for a train, a second too late.

" _You've both suffered so much."_

This sounded like a different voice, softer, more compassionate.

 _SNAP._

This time she saw Mark Jefferfuck, standing over her with a gun. She felt the inescapable urge to call out to Max to watch out. Then, she was hit by the memory of what had happened just seconds before this moment. Which was impossible, Max got rid of that timeline. Didn't she?

" _You've fought so hard to change your fate."_

This was the first voice.

 _SNAP._

This one was in the junkyard again, holding her own gun. The bullet having ricocheted off some metal surface. Chloe was hit by a wave of embarrassment, silently thanking Max for not bringing this one up.

 _SNAP._

She saw Nathan Prescott again, this time squatting next to her unconscious with a camera.

She felt bile bubble in her stomach seeing that little creep's face.

" _And it wasn't just you."_

 _SNAP._

That Kate Marsh kid jumping from the dorm roof.

 _SNAP._

Chloe's father, in an intersection, not even seeing it coming.

That one ached dully inside Chloe like an old scar in the cold.

 _SNAP._

But with this one, she felt all the air leave her body as the bile in her stomach raged like the storm they'd just walked into. She felt white-hot tears stinging the corners of her eyes, threatening the same torrential downpour.

It was Jefferson again, standing over a pile of dirt with a shovel, she could just see a few locks of blonde hair extending from the hole in the earth there, but it was enough to know.

" _Despite your best efforts, the game was rigged from the start."_ The second voice said

" _We're sorry."_ They said in unison.

" _However, while this is the destiny you were given,"_ The first voice began.

" _It was never the story you were meant to live."_ The second voice finished.

" _So, consider this a gift."_ Said the first voice.

" _And a promise,"_ The second voice added _._

" _Use it wisely,"_

" _And treasure it always."_

With a comforting finality they spoke in unison.

" _And always remember that Time and Love can heal most any wound."_

" _Sincerely, T."_ The first voice said.

" _And L._ " Said the second voice.

There was a long silence that was so thick, Chloe felt she could shatter it with a bat.

"So…you heard all that, right, I'm not batshit?" She tried to put humor in her voice, but it was shaking along with the rest of her. It looked like Max was shaking, too.

"Yeah, I definitely heard that." She replied.

 _SNAP._

Another picture. Chloe braced herself for what fresh horror would appear.

This portrait appeared right in front of them and was quite a bit larger than the others.

Chloe felt a familiar comfort spread through her as her eyes lit up in recognition.

It was her truck.

It was just sitting in the picture, framed against the coast in the background.

She stepped forward to examine it. It stood taller than her.

An idea hit her suddenly.

"Max, touch it." She said, spinning on her heels.

"What?" The smaller girl asked.

"Touch the picture, film-for-brains, c'mon!" Said Chloe eagerly.

Max slowly stepped forward and lifted a finger towards the photograph awkwardly and poked it.

A ripple spread out across it, warping the picture.

Chloe felt a rush of excitement as she grabbed Max's hand.

"C'mon, let's go!" She shouted.

And pulled Max into the picture.

Caulfield

Sound once again flooded Max's ears as she stepped out of the photograph, like emerging from water.

She heard the familiar gentle sound of the tide rolling in and out. She heard birds, seagulls, chirping a sanguine refrain. The stood in stark contrast to the tempest they'd just seen. To the piles of dead birds lining the beaches in the weeks before.

But it was still familiar; The tranquility of the ocean.

What wasn't familiar was the warmth. At its best, Arcadia Bay's beach was a cool 60, but here, it had to be at least 75. The sun was low on the water, casting its orange blanket over the sky, streaked with an occasional cloud. It looked pretty against the palm trees.

 _Palm Trees._ Max noticed.

That definitely wasn't on the Arcadia Bay travel brochure.

"My wheels!" Chloe exclaimed, breaking Max from her quiet contemplation.

Chloe ran and cartoonishly embraced the rusted metal of her truck.

Max admitted she'd grown to appreciate the old relic, but she never understood Chloe's love for it.

Then, she saw Chloe climb inside and trace the markings therein reminiscently and remembered Chloe telling her how Rachel Amber had carried her when Max wasn't here. She wondered if this truck had done the same.

"Chloe, where are we?" Max asked, returning to the task at hand.

"No idea, Toto, but it sure ain't Kansas," Chloe said. "Oh shit. Climb aboard Max, there's stuff in here."

Max obliged and took her usual place in the passenger seat.

There she found two suitcases, one of which she recognized as the one she'd brought to Blackwell, what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Chloe had already torn into hers and rifled through its insides. It was packed full of clothes, many of which Max had seen her wear before.

Max carefully unzipped hers and found more of the same, it was filled not just with clothes, but her favorite ones. Ones that looked good on her, ones that were particularly comfortable, and ones that held sentimental value.

Max looked up to ask Chloe how weird this was and found her holding a red flannel, one that she had lent Max once before. She was clutching it to herself as if afraid it was going to fly away.

Max could imagine why.

She wanted nothing more than to hold Chloe, to comfort her. But she still wasn't sure if it was her place.

After all, Max thought, she hadn't been able to save Rachel.

Instead, Max zipped her bag closed, and set her camera bag, with William's posthumous donation still inside, on top of it on the floor of the truck. Chloe tucked her suitcase there as well. The cab of the truck wasn't big to begin with so Max had to pull her knees to her chest to fit.

"So, where to, SuperMax?" Chloe asked as the engine sputtered to life.

There was a road running parallel to the beach they were parked on.

"Looks like we've only got two choices." Max replied sheepishly.

"Eeny meeny miney mo" Chloe said, before settling on the Northern direction.

"Works for me." Max said.

They made their way off the beach and onto terra firma and drove alongside the sand.

They passed by beach shops, arcades, and hotels, lining the beachfront. There was still no sign of anyone else.

"Only the finest touristy crap around these parts." Chloe commented.

Max laughed. She admired Chloe's ability to find the humor in everything. Even when they still had no idea where they were.

Even when they'd watched the world end.

They drove awhile, just enjoying the calm after the storm.

She could see Chloe getting anxious in the quiet, though, and soon enough she started digging around the truck frantically.

"Ugh, seriously? They can give us a fully stocked wardrobe, but they can't bring back my damn CDs?" Chloe said, slamming a hand down on the dashboard.

She turned on the radio.

Static. She scanned furiously through the stations but came up empty.

Seeing her frustration, Max searched the horizon for some good news, or at least a distraction.

She saw a street sign in the distance.

"Chloe, look!" Max said, "Maybe we can find out where we are."

Chloe leaned forward over the wheel and squinted. Max mimicked her. They soon got close enough to make it out.

 **Welcome to Santa Monica**

Santa Monica.

That was a far ways from home. It also rang a bell for Max that she couldn't quite place.

She looked to Chloe questioningly and found her staring off vacantly.

Max knew this look. She'd had it a few times since they'd found Rachel's body.

That's when Max remembered. This was where they'd been planning to run away to.

From the way the voices had talked about this "second chance" it had sounded a lot like heaven, but with all of the pain Chloe was having to relive so far, Max wondered if it might be hell.

She reached out and put a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"Chloe…," Max tried, "I'm sorry. I know we caught Mr. Jefferson and everything, but I know it must be hard. I know she meant a lot to you."

Max felt the stab of guilt in her chest again. She couldn't save everyone, she knew that, but sometimes it felt like she couldn't save anyone. Least of all Chloe.

"Yeah…" Chloe said after a moment, "She would've loved you. I just know she would've."

Max saw the smallest movement in Chloe's shoulders, but the sun had gone down, and Max couldn't see her face.

"Chloe…" She began, not knowing what she was going to follow it with.

"It's getting late." Chloe said, suddenly pulling the truck over to the side of the road. "We should get some rest, try to figure some things out tomorrow."

"Y-yeah." Max managed.

Chloe cut the engine and rolled over to face the window, curling up and pulling the red flannel over herself like a blanket.

Max wanted to hold her, to pull her in and surround her, to show her she was never going to leave. She wanted to take away every bad thing that had ever happened to Chloe and replace it with light and love, because that was what she deserved. But Max knew she didn't have that power anymore, maybe she never did. Besides, Max didn't know where she stood with Chloe now. Chloe had told her she loved her on the cliff, and Max had kissed her. But, for either all Max knew Chloe had only said that because she thought she was going to die. And for all Chloe knew, Max had done the same way.

Since they hadn't talked about it, Max didn't know what to think. So, instead, she rolled over on her side of the cab. And looked out the window, her knees pulled even tighter to her chest. She watched as small drops of rain began falling on the glass.

She heard thunder.

She tried to forget about storms and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Liberty's Forgot

Chapter 2: Liberty's Forgot

(AN: This is a long one, and it's pretty dark, it won't all be like this, promise)

TRIGGER WARNING: Depictions of Abuse, Non-Consensual Sexual Situation, and Overdose.

Caulfield

It was pitch black.

Max had no idea where she was. She could feel warm water falling down all around her. She tried to stand up but the ground was slippery. She felt it with her hand.

Smooth porcelain.

The only source of light was a small circle in front of her. She crawled over to it.

A small grate covered it. A drain. The water slowly filtered into it. She pressed her eye closer to see the source of the light.

At first nothing. Then, an eye appeared.

A blue eye. One she'd recognize anywhere. As it moved back into view, she saw a stream of red twisting its way down the face. It was Chloe.

She opened her mouth to speak.

"Max!"

Max woke with a yell. It was still dark out.

She could hear the rain falling heavy on the metal of the hood.

The sky split open in a flash, illuminating Chloe in front of her, leaning over her, concern on her face.

Her heart pounded at the intensity in her friend's eyes.

"Uh…hey." Chloe said.

"Hey." Max replied, awkwardly.

"You were calling out my name in your sleep. Screaming it, actually. "Chloe said, backing up a little.

"Oh, uh…Sorry." Max said, her embarrassment spreading like wildfire across her freckled cheeks.

"No problem," Chloe said, adopting some of her usual charisma to offset Max's embarrassment, "I usually like it when people scream my name, but I also usually like them to be awake when they do."

Max punched her arm playfully. She resented Chloe for using this opportunity to tease her, but she also appreciated Chloe for defusing the seriousness.

Chloe looked forward, the suns was rising, and the rain was letting up somewhat.

"What do you say we head out for the morning, Maximum Ride?" She said, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel.

"Lead the way Oh Captain, my Captain." Max said with salute.

"Plot me a course, First Mate." Chloe said, her pirate voice in full swing.

Max made a telescope with her eyes and scanned the horizon, before pointing straight ahead.

"Land ho!" She shouted triumphantly.

"Hey now, there's no need for name calling!" Chloe teased.

"Really, though, if we are in Santa Monica, maybe we should keep going North, eventually we'll get back to Arcadia Bay. Maybe we'll find some answers there." Max said.

"Aye aye." Chloe said.

She turned over the engine and pulled back onto the road.

They drive along in relative piece for a while discussing theories about what's happening to them. It felt nice to be able to spend time with Chloe like this. So much of their time together had been stolen from them. Max was grateful.

"I'm just saying, Max, it COULD be aliens. It makes about as much sense anything else." Chloe says. She's got the radio on again and is scanning desperately though the frequencies.

"It's not aliens, Chloe, I know you're a sci-fi nut, but this is clearly much more on the Harry Potter side of the supernatural."

"Alright, Hermione, three turns oughta do it." Chloe mused.

She earned a laugh from Max, but her attention is soon drawn to something further down the road. A figure is standing there, thumb pointing further down the road.

"Hey, I've noticed the gas gauge hasn't gone down since we've been driving so that could contribute to either of our theories," Chloe says.

They're getting closer now, it's a girl, with long blonde hair.

"Chloe…"

"Then again, I guess the gauge could just be busted, this thing's a piece of shit so." Chloe continued, oblivious.

"Chloe!" Max yells.

They're almost to her, and Max's suspicions are confirmed.

"No fucking way…" Chloe whispers.

She opens the door. Max jumps to grab the wheel as Chloe hangs out the edge of the truck, which slows without her acceleration.

"RACHEL?" Chloe screams.

Max shudders, as she's reminded of the pain in Chloe's voice when she shouted that same name when they found Rachel's body.

They found her body. How is this possible?

Max recognizes her from the posters, but they don't do her justice. Rachel Amber is the most perfect person Max had ever seen. That's not to say she didn't think Chloe was perfect. But Rachel was different. She radiated. She gave off this light that seemed to envelop everything, it reminded Max of the way the sun painted the sky orange last night.

Chloe jumped out of the truck before it had stopped and bounded down the road towards the girl in the distance. Rachel raced forward to meet her, when they collided, Chloe lifted her off the ground and spun her. Max felt a rush of emotion she couldn't quite place at the contact.

" _Sometimes when you meet someone who's going to change your life, you just know it."_ A voice said near Max. It sounded like Chloe, but there was no way Max could hear from here. She looked around in vain for its source before focusing back on the two girls.

After they broke their embrace they looked at each other for a moment. Even from here, Max could feel all of Chloe's emotion rushing over her, the pure happiness of seeing her friend again, of all that pain and loss leaving her. Then, a change fell over them. Chloe seemed to be remembering something. She stepped back slightly.

Max rolled down her window to hear what they were saying.

"My god, Rachel, I can't believe you're here, I mean…you're actually here! How are you here? I mean we- I..." Chloe stuttered.

"You found my body." Rachel said. Her voice sounded like a summer breeze. "Yeah, I saw." She pantomimed a camera in her hands, and Max realized she must've had a similar experience before ending up here. Which means she saw the other timeline, too. Max wondered how much she knew.

Chloe started tearing up, presumably a mix of the memory of that pain, and the emotion of seeing Rachel again.

"Rachel, I-well I'm just glad you're here." Chloe chokes, trying in vain to hide the emotion.

"In Cali? Well, I always told you I'd make it." Rachel says, crossing her arms and smirking. She was so confident and unfazed by all of this. But it wasn't cold, it was magnetic. Max was in awe. She could see why Chloe was so mesmerized by her.

"So, you gonna invite me in or what?" Rachel said smugly.

This seemed to calm Chloe somewhat for some reason.

"Sure, I love giving rides to strange drifters, hop in." Chloe replied and linked arms with Chloe.

At this point, Max remembered she was part of this interaction, too, and panicked at the idea of embarrassing herself in front of this new person. This new _force_.

She quickly rolled up the window, so they wouldn't know she'd been eavesdropping.

Rachel entered from the driver's side with a practiced grace, Max could tell she'd done this before a hundred times. Max felt a tinge of sadness at not having spent long enough with Chloe in her adulthood to have shared this casual familiarity she and Rachel seemed to possess.

As Rachel slid into the seat, she noticed Max for the first time. She didn't seem surprised however, Max got the impression she wasn't often caught off guard.

Instead, Rachel merely smiled at her, her eyes pools of infinite mystery, staring at her, into her, probing for everything she would need to know. Max was intimidated but not threatened, as Rachel gave off a warmth that was comforting and safe.

"And who might this cutie be?" Rachel said as Chloe climbed in behind her.

"Oh right, this is…" Chloe began.

"Max, right?" Rachel interrupted. "Chloe told me a lot about you. Mostly good things."

She giggled and extended a hand. It was clear she was teasing, but Max knew how much her leaving hurt Chloe, and she knew how much Rachel had helped her.

"Likewise," Max said taking her hand. It was impossibly soft, like it had never been forced to the coarseness of the world. Max had gathered that that wasn't true, however. Her eyes seemed to reinforce that. They were gentle, like you could fall into them and sleep forever, but still piercing and confident, like they'd seen everything the world had to offer, and you were just a part of it.

It was at this point Max realized she'd been holding her hand for far too long.

She quickly pulled it back, feeling that familiar heat on her cheeks.

Rachel didn't break eye contact, she just gave her a smirk.

"So, the gang's all here?" Chloe asked, possibly sensing the awkwardness. Max felt dumb for embarrassing Chloe in front of Rachel. Max couldn't imagine Chloe missed her that much when she had Rachel around.

She was so _her._ And Max was just…Max.

Rachel turned to Chloe, flourishing her long hair slightly. "All Three Musketeers."

"So, what's the action plan?" Chloe asked.

"Well, first we gotta figure out where in the hell we are." Chloe said.

"Santa Monica," Said Rachel, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"But is it the REAL Santa Monica or some sort of Matrix/ San Junipero bullshit created by aliens to steal our brain power?" Chloe asked, dramatically flinging her arms around.

"What does it matter?" Rachel proposed, leaning over Max to roll down the window. Max could smell warm vanilla. "The sun feels real, so does the sand and the water. I bet the stars look real, too."

"But what about people?" Max squeaked, surprised at her own voice. The girls both turned to look at her. "I-I just mean you're the first person we've seen since we got here."

"Is that such a bad thing." Chloe said sarcastically.

"So that just means we've got all of California to ourselves," Rachel said. "We could do all the stuff we talked about, Chloe."

She gently wrapped her fingers around Chloe's bicep.

Max suddenly felt very alone.

"Y-yeah," Chloe said, clearly affected, "Fuck yeah, that sounds great, right Max?"

"Well, we're supposed to be heading back to Arcadia Bay, to find out what's going on. To check on everyone, you know?" Max murmured, feeling suddenly outnumbered.

"Oh, right…" Chloe said, deflating slightly.

"You've spent all of your life in Arcadia Bay, Chloe, let me show you my turf for once." Rachel chimed. "We can afford a little bit of time, right Max?"

She was staring into her again. So much was hidden behind those eyes. Was she being territorial? Polite? Or was Max just reading too much into it. She looked briefly at Chloe who was giving her a look of eagerness. This was the most excited she'd seen Chloe in a very long time, maybe since William died. She couldn't take that away from her, not again.

"S-sure." Max managed, "Why not?"

"Alright, Ladies," Rachel said, leaning back against the pirate flag upholstering the truck's seat. "Let's trash a hotel room."

Price

This was the fucking life.

Kicking back in a hotel room…or what was left of one.

She and Rachel had created masterpieces all over the walls with her Sharpie, inspired heavily by Mary Jane, courtesy of Chloe's truck stash (one thing thankfully untouched by the Aliens).

They'd raided the linen closets for sheets and pillows and moved all the furniture to make the world's biggest pillow fort in the penthouse suite.

The ceiling to floor windows gave a killer view of the ocean and the sunset, which Chloe could've sworn came a little too quickly. She was sprawled out on the ground in a veritable nest of pillows while Rachel drew designs on her skin while laughing at her reflection.

Max sat cross-legged on the other side of the room, looking painfully sober. Chloe had offered the joint, knowing damn well it wasn't her scene. Still, she hoped she was having fun.

Chloe couldn't have imagined a month ago that she would be here. BOTH of her best friends came back to her, and the world was their oyster. There were no homicidal teachers, disturbed rich kids, or giant storms.

Just pillows, weed, and some gals.

Chloe wanted it to last forever. But she knew better. They still had to get back home at some point. There was a whole town of people they needed to find. Even Stepdouche.

"Are you doing ok, Max?" Chloe heard Rachel ask. She leaned up to see the interaction.

Rachel had shed her flannel and sat in her black crop top and jeans. And of course, the Blue feather earring she never took off. She had carefully designed sharpie tattoos covering her arms and midriff.

Max was blushing. Chloe laughed to herself. Max's freckles always looked even cuter when she blushed.

"Y-yeah, I guess I'm just a little tripped out by...I want to find some answers about all of this." Max stammered.

Rachel turned around and laid her head in Max's lap. Chloe remembered she always got even more touchy when she was high. But it was a little off-putting to see her too best friends making contact like this, it felt like an anachronism, two periods in time that shouldn't mix. Chloe sensed Max was uncomfortable, too.

"Are you not having a good time with us?" She asked.

Chloe was always vexed by Rachel's ability to appear totally in control, even when she was under the influence. As if intoxicants merely extended her reach.

"No! That's not it, I'm sorry, I'm just worried." Max explained.

"Well from what I've heard, you two moved time and space to get here, I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle. So, what's the rush?" Rachel said, a dreamy confidence in her voice.

Rachel had a way of making it feel like everything she said was right. That it was your idea. Usually, this was a good thing, it had helped Chloe come out of her shell, and it was one of the things that made Chloe lo…feel the way she did about her. But she could see the look on Max's face and knew that this time, Rachel was wrong.

As perfect as this night had been, they needed to get back on the road, they needed to go home.

"Actually, Rach, I think Max is right," Chloe said. "We still don't know what's going on here, and we should check on Arcadia Bay."

A brief silence hung thick in the air.

"Aw, come on Chloe don't be such a spoilsport." Rachel said without moving.

"I'm serious Rachel, this has been great, but we need to go before it gets too dark." Chloe fired back.

Rachel sat up off of Max's lap, the latter just watching in anxious horror at the conflict.

"Chloe, we tried for years to get out of Arcadia Bay, to get here, we both did…we both worked so hard to get the money together. Why are you so eager to go back?"

Rachel's switch had flipped. Seeing her like this always made Chloe feel like she was two-faced, it made her doubt the gentle moments where Rachel cared about her, it made her feel lied to.

It made her angry.

"We both worked hard, huh? What the fuck did you do? Fucked around with Frank? Was that supposed to be for us? Max and I found the pictures, Rachel, and the letters. Whether it was just to get high, or because you 'loved' him, how in the fuck was that for us? Were you gonna take him down here in his piece of shit RV after you got tired of me?"

Chloe felt that one. It looked like Rachel did, too. That came from years of pent up feelings. Feelings she hadn't been able to tell Rachel when she was still around, or anyone after she wasn't. It hurt her to say it, but there was no backing up now, and her anger was bubbling inside her still.

"Fuck you, Chloe. Where the fuck were you? Too worried about who your mom was living with to pay attention to anything else. Did you forget my dad betrayed me, that my real mom abandoned me? You were too busy being caught up in your stepdad to care about anything"

That was bullshit. Chloe had been there after Rachel got out of the hospital, after she found out the truth about her mom, she'd scooped Rachel's wasted ass off the ground hundreds of times. Rachel was the one who pushed her away.

Rachel was tearing up. Chloe felt her own eyes begin to cloud with precipitation. But she wasn't done, she was sick of this shit. Rachel needed to own her shit.

"No, fuck you, Rachel! You're the one who doesn't care about anyone but yourself. You use people. Y-you play with their feelings and string them along until you've used them up or gotten bored with them and then you throw them away," Chloe could feel her voice waver on that one, remembering how it felt learning Rachel had been involved with other people. "Now stop being a selfish brat and come home."

There was a fire in Rachel's normally gentle eyes now.

"Home? That place was NEVER my home. We both hated it there and I did what I had to do for BOTH of us. Do you really think I liked it there? I was miserable every second I was there, and I ended up trapped there buried in a fucking junkyard." Rachel screamed.

Chloe chest ached. She hated every second of it? She never felt like it was her home? Fuck that. Fuck all of this. She was done.

"Well maybe it you hadn't been whoring around with Jeffershit- "Chloe fired back.

"CHLOE!" Max gasped.

Chloe's whole body burned from those words. She wanted desperately to claw at them in the air and shove them back down her throat, but she had said them.

And worse, she had meant them.

Rachel just stood there. A look Chloe had never seen before on her face. Not even when they caught her dad cheating. Not even when she had started the fire.

She balled up her fists.

Suddenly, a godlike boom thundered outside, like the sky splitting open, it rattled the windows of the apartment and torrential rain beat against them.

Tears streamed down Rachel's cheeks, mostly hidden behind her gilded hair.

"Can't leave in that storm." Was all she said. It sounded hollow in a way that cut Chloe somewhere she didn't know she had.

Rachel picked up a pillow and walked slowly from the room down the hall.

Her hollowness spread to Chloe like a contagion.

All of the emotion she was feeling pressed into her skin, cocooning her until she couldn't feel it anymore, until she couldn't feel anything. She was aggressively empty.

Painfully Numb.

"Chloe…" Max said, probing into the silence like a curious, but terrified animal.

"I'm fine." Was all she could manage, "I'm sorry you had to see that. Goodnight."

Chloe didn't remember lying down. She just remembered having been lying down forever. She was pretty sure Max had fallen asleep. She hoped so. Max had tried so hard to fix everything. To fix her. She didn't want to make her feel like she needed fixing.

But maybe she did.

Chloe felt pinpricks on her skin as she all the hurtful words she had exchanged with Rachel played on a loop in her skull. She wasn't sure which hurt more to remember.

In the stillness all that could be heard was the patter of rain on the windows, a sound she'd grown accustomed to. One that was soothing in a way. The one thing that made sense in a world that hadn't in a long, long time.

She hadn't moved, or rather, she didn't remember moving. It felt like if she moved it would make what had happened real. She didn't want it to be real. She just wanted Rachel to come back. To lay down next to her like they had in her room all that time ago. She wanted to see Rachel's smile.

She felt a shock in her heart, as for the second time in her life, she wasn't sure if she'd ever see it again.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound.

 _SNAP._

Then silence.

Chloe abandoned her aversion to movement to see if Max had taken a picture, but Max remained still. Her shoulders gently moving in rhythm with her breathing.

Chloe then remembered the white room.

She slowly rose up and pulled down the sheets hanging above her, crumbling a portion of the pillow fort she'd built with Rachel.

Sure enough, there it was. A large photograph, like the one they'd walked through to come here, stood framed against the window of the penthouse, the rain still beating against its back.

The photograph featured one subject, a blue jay feather earring.

One that Chloe knew well as the one constantly dangling from Rachel's ear. Chloe's heart bludgeoned her ribcage.

"Max…" She whispered, "Max, wake up!"

She heard a stirring in the sheets.

"Mmmmm…you ok, Chlo?" Came a very sleepy Max voice, which any other time would've prompted teasing, but now there wasn't time.

Max poked her head out of the fort, her hair sticking in all directions.

"What izzit?" She mumbled.

"Another one of these weird portal thingies." Chloe replied, "I need you to poke it."

Right now?" Max whined, "Can't we manipulate time and space in the morning."

"Please, Max," Chloe said, barely noticing the desperation in her own voice, "I think it's about Rachel."

Max seemed sobered by the uncharacteristic seriousness of Chloe's tone.

"A-alright." She said, stepping out of the fort in earnest.

Chloe watched, transfixed and Max shuffled up to the portrait, and extended her finger once again into its membrane. The surface rippled.

"Ok, you ready?" Asked Chloe, to herself and to Max.

Max gave her a shrug.

"As much as I always am." She replied.

They clasped hands and stepped through the portal.

Chloe's nostrils are immediately hit by a rancid smell. A combination of weed, dog shit, and baked beans she wished she didn't recognize, but she did.

Her new surroundings confirmed that she and Max were crammed into Frank's RV.

It looked relatively nicer than the last time they had set foot in it. That is to say, you could walk around.

Chloe heard voices behind them and spun around to see Frank in the driver's seat, with Rachel sitting next to him.

Her legs were in his lap as she leaned back against the passenger side door. She laughed joyfully as Frank passed her a joint which she took a deep inhale of.

"You know I could see you as zookeeper, Frank, I really could." She said.

"Nah, it was just some shit I thought about as a kid," He scoffed.

"But, look you've already got the beard for it and everything!" Rachel said, as a puppy approached suddenly from behind Chloe and jumped up into Rachel's lap. "Oh, Hi there, Pompidou! And see you've done such a good job raising this little angel."

She pulled Pompidou in close, rubbing him behind his ear. The dog was ecstatic.

"Eh, he's always liked you better anyway." Frank said.

"That's why I'm gonna steal him from you!" Rachel said standing up and carrying Pompidou towards Chloe. Frank reached after her and Rachel screamed playfully.

Chloe thought Rachel was going to run into her, but she disappeared into thin air the second before she did. Frank had gone with her.

Then, Chloe heard soft Grunge music playing from the other end of the RV, and then the sound of a camera shutter. She saw the flash from behind the door to Frank's bedroom. She felt Max's hand on her shoulder, but she approached anyone and slid the narrow door open.

The first thing she noticed was Rachel on the bed. In her underwear. She was posing. Chloe felt her blood rush at the sight. Every inch of her exposed skin sent shivers down Chloe's spine, singing a siren song into her bloodstream. She was so extraordinarily, impossibly beautiful, somehow, Chloe never got used to it.

Then, she noticed the source of the flash. Frank had a digital camera set up on a tripod and was framing a shot. Chloe felt a deep, rancid churning in the pit of her stomach at his presence. He felt like an intruder in a sacred place, a germ in her system.

Next to him on the table was a mirror, lightly sprinkled with white dust, accompanied by a razor blade and a rolled up $20 bill. Chloe could put two and two together.

Frank had a wild look in his bloodshot eyes.

Rachel eyes were filled with a practiced seduction, an ethereal grace, but she was looking at the camera, not at Frank.

Frank suddenly stepped from behind the camera and walked up to Rachel and pulled on her bra strap until it hung loosely on her shoulder.

Rachel looked at it briefly, before regaining her composure as he took another picture.

Frank left his post again, this time stomping over and wrapping his arms around her torso.

"Frank," Rachel started. "Frank, stop…"

Frank kissed Rachel sloppily on her neck and shoulders, as Rachel used her hands to try and keep her bra on.

Chloe's blood was boiling now. Fury clenched in her fists.

"Frank….NO!" Rachel yelled and pushed him back. The RV rattled from the contact.

This word reverberated off the windows.

"Why?" Frank growled.

Rachel had no answer for him. She just clung to her chest, trying to cover as much of herself as she could.

"Is it because you're a dyke?" He said. "Don't think I haven't seen you with that blue-haired chick.

Chloe felt fire burn in her nerves, in her lungs, consuming her, begging to be released, to emulate the toxin standing before her.

Frank tried to come closer and Rachel pushed him again with her feet, pulling herself into the corner and covering herself with the blanket.

Frank lunged at her and tugged at the blanket. After a brief struggle, Frank reached out with his hand a brought it hard against Rachel's face.

Chloe lunged forward, putting her whole weigh behind her fist as she swung at Frank. But her hand passed through him, as did the rest of her. She spun around in rage to see the moment of eye contact between Rachel and Frank, neither of them noticing her.

"I fucking hate you, you asshole. Stay the FUCK away from me!" She pulled the blanket to her and sped out of the RV.

"Rachel, wait, I'm sorry!" Frank called, his jaw hanging open.

Chloe pushed past him, grabbing Max's hand as she chased after Rachel.

"C'mon, we've got to catch her." She said.

They bounded out of the RV's entrance but found themselves exiting into semi-darkness.

They were standing in a class room. It took Chloe a second to recognize it. They were back at Blackwell. Chloe hears Rachel again and spins towards the sound like a flower growing towards the sun. Standing beside her, was a man who sent more anger through Chloe than even Frank.

It was Mark Jefferson.

Rachel was sitting in front of his desk, crying.

"I'm sorry for this, Mr. Jefferson, I know I shouldn't be acting this way, but I feel like I screwed up with everyone. I-I don't have anyone left."

"Now, I'm sure that's not true." He said, his voice causing a cold, metallic feeling to fill Chloe's mouth. She felt Max wrap a shaky hand around her arm, she clamped a hand over it, trying to let her know they were in this together.

"It feels that way. My parents are liars, my boyfriend turned out to be a jerk, and my best friend…"

Chloe stepped closer.

"Well, I can't let anyone see me like this, but I just feel like I'm never going to make it, you know? I built up all these plans, but what do they really mean? I'm the daughter of a sociopath and a drug addict, somehow, I think I'm going to be a model, I'm going to be a lawyer? Most days, I can barely get out of bed in the morning. Putting all this make-up on, putting on this face, all this confidence…Sometimes I feel like I can't do it anymore. It's not worth it. I'm never going to leave anything in this world but regret and pain" Rachel said.

Mr. Jefferson stood up and walked around his desk.

"That's nonsense, Ms. Amber. I've seen a lot of beauty in the world, and all of depths of what human beings have to offer, and I can tell you with certainty that you're special. I see something…supernatural in you, dying to burst free. I think with the right stimuli, you could be something fantastic. And I guarantee, you will leave a mark on this world no one will forget." He slithered, placing a hand on Rachel's arm.

This one touch made Chloe want to do unspeakable things to Jeffershit, even if she knew she would just pass through him. There was no punishment bad enough for this creep. No storm big enough to wash his evil away.

The room disappeared into full darkness. The only light coming from the end of the room around a corner. A brief flash. One that Chloe had learned to fear.

She took a step forward.

Another flash.

Chloe knew what she was walking into, but she had to keep going. She felt Max grabbing at her hand to pull her back, but she shrugged her off.

Another step.

Another flash.

A phone lit up on a table nearby. Her own face appeared on the screen.

"Chloe Calling", it read.

Chloe chose not to feel the gravity of that realization.

She rounded the corner and there was Jefferson, with a huge ass camera, crouched to the floor. Next to him was that punk, Nathan Prescott, who was a beast all his own.

But then Chloe saw her, and her heart fell into her stomach.

There was Rachel, bound and sitting up against a white back drop. Her eyes with vapid, pale circles, barely reflecting the flashes of light as her head swayed gently back and forth.

Chloe sprinted to her, falling to her knees in front of her.

"Rachel!" She cried, "Rachel, wake up you've got to get out of here."

She could hear Jefferson yelling at Nathan behind her, but she didn't care.

She could feel Max's presence getting closer, as she, too, knelt behind Chloe.

Another flash.

Chloe could hear a small noise come from Rachel's mouth. She bent down close to hear.

"Ch-Chloe…" It says.

White hot tears burned in Chloe's eyes. As she tried desperately to embrace her friend, the only person that had every truly understood her. The person who brought so much light and life into her existence, now tied up and robbed of her brightness.

The sound of skin contacting skin drew Chloe's attention momentarily. She turned to see Jefferson having slapped Nathan hard across the face, before laying down his camera.

Jefferson disappeared.

Nathan picked up his camera and started pacing wildly. Talking to himself, hitting himself, snapping photos of Rachel's near unconscious form.

Chloe was running out of time.

"RACHEL!" She shrieked, turning back towards, barely able to see through the flood from her tear ducts, "Rachel, please wake up, you have to get out of here, please don't leave me!"

Max pulled at Chloe's arm again.

"Max! Help me we have to get her out of here." Chloe pleaded.

Nathan was preparing a syringe sloppily, spilling most of it. Then, approached Rachel.

Her eyes widened.

"Chloe…" She whimpered again.

Chloe clutched at her form.

"No!" She screamed, swatting desperately at Nathan's arm as he began to inject her.

"Chloe, you shouldn't see this, we have to go," Max pleaded, pulling her pack.

But Chloe was hysterical.

Grasping at nothing, sputtering, crying out for someone, anyone to help.

Then, she felt warm.

She smelled vanilla.

Two arms wrapped around her from behind and tucked her head into their embrace, shielding her eyes from the scene before them.

Chloe let go, melting back into them as the scene around them faded.

Amber

Rachel hated talking about herself.

Many people would be surprised to know this about her, but Rachel had always felt that her story was one that was better told in secondhand accounts.

She hated justifying herself, explaining her emotions, her actions.

She told people it was to maintain her mystique, but the truth was, Rachel didn't know.

Most of the time she had no idea why she did what she did, or what she was feeling.

She just always did what she thought she had to do, and stood behind it, hoping that everyone else would stay as confused as she was.

How fucking stupid.

She had come back to apologize to Chloe, after a sleepless night, obsessing over everything they had said to one another, and found the photograph and gathered what must have happened. Once she stepped through, she knew everything Chloe was about to see, and wanted nothing more than to spare her from it, but now as they were back in the penthouse, and Chloe sobbed violently in her arms, all she could hope to do was comfort her.

As traumatic as seeing her own death for the second time was, she'd had time to process it. It appeared Chloe had been in denial about a lot of it.

She gently ran her fingers through Chloe's hair.

"It's okay, Chloe, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here." She chanted. Like a mantra. She guessed, in a way reminding herself as well as Chloe.

Chloe finally found the strength to turn and face her.

Rachel could see the redness of her cheeks, but what really struck her was the panic in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Chloe croaked, her throat hoarse from sobbing. Before Rachel could respond, Chloe continued. "For everything, for getting angry, for yelling, for blaming you…I didn't mean it. I just-"

"I know," Rachel interrupted knowing full well everything she had done that had hurt Chloe. "It's my fault. You were right about a lot of things. I did leave you. For Frank. For…Mark."

That hurt Rachel to remember. "It wasn't because of anything you did. It was all me. I wanted to be with you so bad, Chloe, but with everything that was happening, you were too close to it. I got scared. You reminded me how vulnerable I was, and a part of me hated feeling like that. I spent so much of my life building up walls and here you were, breaking them down one by one." She continued.

"At first, I was just using Frank for money," Rachel Admitted, "But then I realized how much he made me forget. About my mom, my dad, about everything. He made me forget about all the pressure of being me. It was only the night you saw that I realized he was just a loser, and he was going to bring me down with him."

Rachel adjusted herself, bracing herself for this next part.

"Mark was different," She began, "After I broke it off with Frank I felt so alone. I wanted to come to you, but I was afraid. Afraid you would see through me, know how much of a failure I'd been those last few months, I was afraid you would hate me. So, I went to Mark. And he had this…unique perspective. And he knew exactly what to say to make me trust him." Rachel felt herself choking up, too.

"It's not your fault! I-I should've let you know I was there for you, but I was too busy being petty about feeling you slip away to be there to support you. God, I'm such a fucking bitch, even after you went missing, I was still angry, I still blamed you." Chloe said, her voice cracking under the weight of her confession.

Rachel grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"But you never stopped looking," She said sincerely, "I know you didn't. And I never stopped…" Rachel paused, the pressure of words left unspoken burdening her mouth. "I never stopped loving you, Chloe."

She felt Chloe's breath hitch in her arms as they looked into each other's eyes. A moment of long overdue intimacy.

"I looked in so many places for something to make me feel like anything was possible, but I was so blinded by fear that I forgot that you made me feel that way from the moment I met you." Rachel said.

"I love you, Chloe." She repeated.

There was a moment of quiet as those words hung in the air. Chloe looked as if she wanted to speak but was afraid she would blow them away with her breathe.

Eventually, she managed a, "Really?"

Rachel let out a wet giggle.

"Yes!" She said, then had an idea.

"What can I do to convince you?" She asked, images of their first time under the streetlamp, dancing on the backs of her eyelids.

Chloe seemed to experience the same thing as her expression softened.

The two leaned in and their lips met. As they each gave into the support of the other.

They felt the power of years of miscommunication, of fear, and of lost time shed off their shoulders as they lifted each other up in the weightlessness of their contact.

When they finally pulled apart. They basked in it a moment longer, before Rachel became suddenly aware of Max's presence in the room.

Max was crying, too, and trying very hard to hide it, while also pretending to look away awkwardly. The sight almost made Rachel crack up right then and there.

She owed a lot to Max. Not only for her own sake but for Chloe's. She decided to make a conscious effort to show Max how much her help meant to her.

For now, she merely extended an arm and a warm smile in Max's direction and beckoned her over.

The three of them laid there for a moment, feeling cathartic.

Then Chloe spoke.

"This is really nice and all but my arm's asleep" She said.

They all burst into laughter. Laughter they all badly needed after today.

"Say, it's still too late for us to head out tonight, so what do you say we have one more night of fun before we leave." Chloe suggested.

Max looked worried.

"Don't worry, Maxi-pad, this one's PG-13" Chloe assure her.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Rachel added, trying her best to readopt her persona. For once, not because she had too, just because it was fun.

Chloe rushed the three of them downstairs to the pool.

Warm, humid air and the smell of Chlorine greeted them as they pulled open the glass doors. The moonlight from outside casted blue-white blobs on the walls when reflected off the water. Chloe immediately stripped down to her underwear and cannonballing, earning an adorable blush from Max, as she slowly began removing her clothes.

Rachel had seen their suitcases upstairs, but hers must've gotten lost in heaven baggage claim.

"Guess I'm skinny dipping," She threatened, beginning to remove her own clothes.

If possible, Max's blush got deeper.

"N-No wait! I've got some clothes you can borrow!" She stuttered.

Rachel could blame this on Max's embarrassment, but she got the feeling that was just the kind of person Max was. Always, self-sacrificing.

Rachel hoped to be more like her one day.

The three of them splashed around and raced one another, Chloe at one point pretending to be a waterbender which was particularly entertaining.

Then, she heard, " _Rachel would've loved this,"_

It sounded like Chloe's voice, but Chloe was underwater.

She looked at Max, she had heard it, too.

But she smiled at Rachel and shrugged.

"Well," Rachel thought, "If Time Cop isn't worried…"

They continued swimming until they all were tired and then dried themselves off on the way back to the top floor.

Max grabbed a pair of boy shorts, a bra, and a hoodie for Rachel to change into and then turned around AND covered her eyes.

Rachel might've been offended by a less modest girl.

The underwear and hoodie were comfy, but the bra was way too small, a foreseeable issue.

So, Rachel simply zipped the hoodie up and handed a stunned a very red Max her bra back, causing a wandering eye from both Max and Chloe.

Rachel chuckled, happy everything her friends had seen today hadn't robbed her of her sex appeal entirely.

The three of them took positions inside of the newly remodeled pillow fort and laid in a circle. Rachel reflected on the day, and everything she had said to Chloe. She thought about the future that lay ahead for the three of them. She thought about Arcadia Bay. And, while still apprehensive, for the first time in her life, she felt like she was running towards something, and not away.


	3. Migratory Animals

Chapter 3: Migratory Animals

Caulfield

Max felt…well she wasn't sure what she was feeling.

But it was something.

A lot of things, actually.

A lot had happened last night. Max felt like she'd met a mythical creature, or royalty from a distant land.

Rachel was a legend. Someone she'd only seen in pictures and heard about in stories told by people madly in love with her. That's a heck of an introduction to someone.

Then, she got a crash course on Rachel Amber, emphasis on "crash", and suddenly she literally came to life in front of her.

And yet somehow, Max felt she still didn't know anything about her.

She knew how much she meant to Chloe, that was for sure.

Or at least, she was starting to.

That should've made her happy, right?

Chloe was her best friend, and she got the chance to be reunited with someone obviously very important to her. Someone she…loved.

That was exciting! Especially after everything they had both suffered through to get there. They both deserved to be happy.

So, why did Max feel like this?

That was a stupid question…

Max knew why she felt this way. It was because she wanted Chloe to feel that way about her. She wanted to be the one that made Chloe happy, that made all this hell they'd been through worth it, she wanted to be the one Chloe loved.

She thought she had been. Chloe had said so on the cliff, and Max had kissed her for it, too nervous to make her mouth form words instead. Maybe she had misunderstood what Chloe had meant. Maybe she should've said it back.

She and Chloe hadn't talked about it, so Max was in the dark, left wondering. But, now…things had changed.

Max had been gone for 5 years.

That was 5 years of experiences Chloe had without her.

5 years of nights spent stargazing.

Of comforting touches.

Of teenage rebellion.

Max had been gone for all of it.

And Rachel had been there.

Max felt angry with herself for not being there.

Then, angry at herself for wishing that.

She should just be grateful Chloe had forgiven her at all, that she still had her best friend. She felt like a selfish jerk for wanting more.

Chloe deserved better than her. Chloe deserved Rachel.

Even after all the vulnerability they'd seen in her, Rachel still felt like a force of nature.

And Max was just a shy kid with a bad fashion sense and a worse habit for holding on to the past.

And wanting things she couldn't have.

How could she compete with all their history, all their passion?

Max decided she couldn't.

All that stuff on the cliff was just the end of the world talking.

Chloe couldn't feel that way about her.

Could she?

Max was roused from her "contemplation" by Chloe's voice.

"Hey, Maximum Strength…little help?" She grunted.

Max was thrown back into her reality suddenly, remembering that at this moment in time, she was assisting her two companions in squeezing a hotel mattress into the elevator.

Rachel had instructed them to do so, though for what purpose, remained a mystery.

This line of thinking seemed to be commonplace where Rachel was involved.

This morning, Rachel had only told them they were "taking a piece of this moment and place with them."

Rachel had a way of making everything sound meaningful, even when it only meant something to her.

But here they were, stuffing this poor elevator to the brim. When they finally got it, they rushed down 13 flights of stairs to beat it to the ground floor.

When they finally got there and pulled the behemoth from the elevator Chloe collapsed on it, sighing dramatically.

Then, her eyes shot open.

"Rachel…tell me there aren't rooms on this floor with beds we could've taken." Chloe threatened.

"Not with as much sentimental value." Rachel hummed.

Chloe made a sound that reminded Max of a pot boiling over, and stood up, presumably to chase Rachel, but her exhaustion got the better of her and she fell back down onto the mattress, bouncing slightly.

Rachel giggled warmly.

" _Ow…"_ Max thought, as her stomach ached at their happiness.

She hoped it wouldn't always feel like this.

Then, she noticed Rachel looking at her.

"Through her." Max corrected herself mentally.

Her eyes were as unreadable as always, but Max was getting better. She sensed a hint of mischief mixed with something else. Sadness? Pity?

"Well, Max, if Chloe's going to take a nap, what do you say I come show you my surprise." Rachel chirped, wrapping her arm around Max's, it was incredibly soft.

If there was one thing that confused Max most about this whole situation, and that was saying something, it was the way there was always a touch of flirtation to everything Rachel said to her.

Max could assume Rachel was like this with everyone, but it didn't help matters.

It made them more awkward, if possible.

But, then again, it was hard not to enjoy contact with Rachel. Any affection she showed made you feel special, sacred even. Like a goddess had ordained you as her chosen host. Max couldn't imagine what Chloe must've felt like kissing her.

This thought caused another horrible blush to grace her cheeks, which she desperately hoped Rachel didn't notice.

What was happening to her?...

"Unless it's all you can eat waffles, I'm good in here" Chloe panted.

Rachel just smiled at Max's lack of response and pulled her gently out the front door of the hotel.

Rachel's surprise was…not what Max had expected.

It was the truck.

It was sitting right where they had left it, only know there was a colorful length of plastic sheeting stretching from the roof of the cab to the gate of the bed, forming a little tent.

"I made it out of shower curtains," Rachel said proudly, "It's so we can have a place to sleep on the drive without having to worry about the rain that seems to be following us. Here, you haven't seen the best part."

She dragged Max up to passenger side door before releasing Max's arm which turned cold at the loss of contact.

She pulled herself up and launched through the open window like a Duke of Hazard.

Max approached the window and peeked in.

Rachel waited until she could see and then pulled back the tiny window separating the cab from the bed, gesturing like Vanna White.

Inside were stacks of pillows and blankets like the ones they'd built their fort out of. Max also spotted two mini fridges, clearly not plugged into anything. The first was filled with snack food, which immediately reminded Max of how hungry she was. They had only eaten courtesy of a vending machine Chloe had…appropriated since they got here.

The other fridge contained beverages, many of them alcoholic, Max noticed. Chloe would be happy about that, but Max also notices sodas and sparkling water.

What really stood out, though, was the otherworldly glow in the tent. There were small orbs emitting light sitting along the edges of the bed. They looked to be some sort of battery-operated lighting device, presumably from an emergency kit in the hotel.

The last thing Max noticed was a few lines of string, fastened tight horizontally to the interior of the shower curtains.

For the life of her, Max couldn't figure out what they were for.

Rachel must've noticed, because she said, "Oh! That's my favorite part, apparently this hotel was stuck in the 50s, because they were still hanging their clothes to dry. So, I grabbed some clothesline and hung it up so you could attach pictures that you take along the way."

Max was stunned.

"You have an instant camera, right?" She continued, "Chloe told me."

She dug around in her pocket and extended a handful of clothespins.

"I've got more if you need them, but this should get you started." Rachel said smiling.

Max slowly reached out and retrieved the wooden clips, still not able to process the gift.

"I-I don't know what to say," Max mustered.

"Don't worry about it," Rachel replied, throwing her hair over her shoulder putting the rolling waves to shame with her fluidity. "I just thought it would be nice to go to sleep every night surrounded by memories. Good ones, that is. And I have a feeling we're going to be making lots of those."

Max had never felt so speechless.

Why had Rachel done this?

When had Rachel done this?

Did she sleep? This must've taken forever to put together alone, and yet, she somehow still had time to make herself look that perfect?

This was the most thoughtful thing someone had done for her since Chloe gave her William's camera.

Try as she might, it was impossible to dislike Rachel, she was amazing.

Max was okay with that, but felt like she shouldn't be?

She didn't know, she was new to this whole "jealousy" thing.

But some part of her believed Rachel.

That maybe the journey really could be a good thing.

A second chance.

"What. The. FUCK. Did you do to my baby?" Max heard Chloe say from behind her.

She and Rachel both turned to see her hauling the mattress on her own to the threshold of the hotel.

Rachel laughed beside her.

"I gave her a makeover!" Rachel teased, "give it a chance you haven't even seen the inside yet,"

Chloe stomped over to her and they playfully fought about the décor.

Max saw Rachel place a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

And that was all it took.

Just like that, the ache in her gut was back.

She looked to the ground and silently cursed herself.

This wasn't fair to them.

Rachel was a good person.

She was good for Chloe, and she was kind to Max.

Max just wanted these feelings to go away.

" _Maybe,"_ She thought to herself, " _They'd be better off without me. "_

That thought scared her, but it had been circling the edge of her mind since Rachel had returned.

After all, what had she done for them?

Every time she tried to save someone, it always blew up in her face. She was useless before she got her powers, and she was useless after…

She felt tear start to form, but the last thing she wanted was for them to see, so she wiped them away quickly. Then, looked up, noticing the silence.

This time, it was Chloe looking at her.

Rachel was busy adjusting some things in the truck, so this moment was just for them.

Chloe, unlike Rachel, was an open book.

Her whole heart was scribbled across her face.

She stared at Max, jaw agape, panic and confusion and sadness written clearly in her eyes.

Max was confused, too.

There was no way Chloe had seen her cry, and unless she had suddenly gone crazy, Max knew she hadn't said anything out loud.

So, what was Chloe reacting to? What had earned this look on her face?

Then, Max heard it.

Softly.

Distantly.

Like a sleepwalker.

" _Max?"_

It was Chloe's voice. But Chloe's lips were still, hanging open.

Max didn't understand. It was like before in the truck, or in the pool, but those times, they were just her imagination, right?

Soon, Max's curiosity got the better of her shock and she concentrated hard on Chloe's eyes.

" _C-chloe?"_ She thought.

She thought…"at" Chloe.

Chloe shook her head, then looked back at Max.

" _W-what the fuck is going on…"_

Price

Chloe felt…well she felt something.

A whole lot of shit.

Mostly confused.

She started out losing two best friends.

Then she died…a lot.

Then there was some kissing, some saving of the world, some weird shit with photographs and now she was here.

Both of her best friends back with her.

One of which tied shower curtains to her truck.

And the other, with whom she was currently pulling some X-files shit.

It seemed like they'd been standing there staring for a long time.

They'd been radio silent since that first exchange.

Then, Rachel came back from fiddling with her newly decked out wheels.

"Alright ladies let's load that mattress up!" She cheered, then sobered slightly at the sight of her and Max, "Did I miss something?"

Max looked terrified, Chloe panicked.

"Uh…no! We just saw a wasp, and um…" Chloe stammered.

" _Help…"_ She thought desperately.

"I'm allergic!" Max interjected.

" _I tried…"_ Chloe heard Max say in her mind.

Rachel stared them both down, her expression vague. Chloe worried she didn't need weird mind powers to tell what they were thinking.

But then she smiled.

"If you two were staring at my ass you can just say so." She teased.

Chloe laughed a little too forcefully.

Rachel gave her another hard look then pointed to mattress.

"Let's go, voyeurs," She said, "You're the ones who wanted to get on the road, so let's get rollin'"

She hopped out of the truck and Chloe and Max raced to grab an end each of the spongey material.

Together, the three of them loaded it through the truck's gate and into the mobile campsite.

The three of them took one last look at the hotel, debriefing all the experiences they'd shared in their one night in its walls.

Max stepped forward and pulled her camera from her bag.

"One for the road?" She suggested.

Rachel eagerly bounded to Max's side as she turned the camera towards them, the hotel behind them. Chloe followed suit.

With a gentle mechanical click, the device captured the moment.

As crazy as the last twenty-four hours had been. It was a nice gesture. Chloe expected she'd want to remember it.

But she also doubted she'd forget it.

Then, they piled in the truck.

If Chloe had thought the truck was crowded before, it certainly was now. Even having moved the suitcases to the tent, they were till packed like sardines.

And it was HOT.

They had the windows down, but the old vehicle's air conditioning wasn't what it needed to be to combat the sweltering California sun.

Her tank top clung to her back, which in turn clung to the makeshift upholstery behind her.

Rachel had to have the worst of it, being sandwiched between her and Max.

About 15 minutes in, Rachel had stripped down to a sports bra Chloe had lent her.

This did not help Chloe's heat situation.

There wasn't much sound between the three of them, as if scared the carbon dioxide they might expel would cook them all alive. So, all they had was the coarse rumble of the engine, the squeak of the suspension as they passed over bumps, and the static of the radio as they occasionally scanned the airwaves for any sort of signal.

Rachel was lazily fanning herself with an old Chinese takeout menu.

Max was absently maneuvering her hand through the stream of wind out the window.

She hadn't heard anything…mental, again since they'd boarded.

She hadn't tried sending anything either. It was as if the two of them were afraid that if they did it too much, their brains would turn to mush or something.

That seemed like alien stuff to Chloe.

Still, her curiosity was piqued. She wanted to try again.

She set her gaze forward at the road and focused her mind on Max.

Then she thought, " _Yo, Professor X."_

She saw Max sit up slightly out of the corner of her eye and look at Chloe.

" _Y-yeah ?"_ Max sent back.

" _It sorta figures this would happen to us, huh?"_ She thought.

" _Yeah,"_ Max laughed in Chloe's head, a very odd sensation, " _it was only a matter of time."_

" _Well, I can't think of anyone else I'd want to be telepathically linked to, so I guess I lucked out there."_ Chloe joked awkwardly.

This time Max didn't laugh.

Chloe looked over at her briefly. Then, over at Rachel, who smiled at her.

Oh…

Chloe's head felt like scrambled eggs.

Of course, Max would be upset.

Chloe had heard Max say…or think, that she and Rachel were better off without her, which Chloe knew definitely wasn't true.

But it still begged the question. Where did the two of them stand?

Where did any of them stand?

On the one hand, Rachel had kissed her!

She had said the words.

Words Chloe had dreamed of her saying for so long.

Holy Fuck.

That was awesome.

But…On the other hand, she had said those same words to Max.

And meant them.

And Max had kissed her.

Holy Fuck…

Chloe's head hurt thinking about all of it.

She and Max hadn't talked about any of it.

Their kiss or her and Rachel's.

And Rachel didn't know about her and Max's history, she didn't see the cliff. So, she was just acting normal, thinking Chloe and Max were just friends.

God, Max must've been freaking.

Chloe felt like such an idiot.

Such a bitch.

But still, she didn't know what to do with everything she was feeling.

She needed to talk to Max about it eventually.

There was no time like the present.

" _Hey, Max?"_ She began.

" _Yeah?"_ She heard back after a small delay.

" _We…we should talk, right?"_ She continued, " _Or…you know…transmit."_

Max was quiet for a moment.

" _Yeah…I think we should."_ Came her reply.

Despite this admission, they both sat in silence a little longer.

Chloe chanced a cautious glance at Rachel, eyes dancing over the waves.

They had made it to Malibu, and it was gorgeous, but Chloe had been too distracted by Max and their new-found connection, that hadn't been able to enjoy it. She was glad Rachel was.

" _I'm sorry,"_ Chloe sent. She didn't know what else to say.

" _For what?"_ Max asked back.

" _For…I don't know…I'm new to this apology thing"_

" _Chloe, you don't have to be sorry. If anything, I'M sorry. Sorry for what you…'heard'"_

" _Max…"_

" _Really, I'm happy for the two of you! It just kind of caught me off guard, you know?"_

" _I can imagine, but-"_

" _You don't have to feel guilty, I know a lot's changed since we…"_

Max cut off.

Chloe let the memory flash across her mind, not really sure if it was real anymore.

She felt a weight deep in her stomach at thought.

She wanted it to be real.

" _What if it hasn't changed?"_ Chloe sent.

" _What do you mean?"_ Max answered

" _I feel- I just don't think anything's changed"_

" _Chloe…a lot has happened in the last couple days._

Chloe looked over at Rachel. Max was right about that.

" _Yeah, I know Rachel's back, and that's insane, but what I mean is the way I feel…I still mean what I said."_

Chloe felt a wave of emotion. But it was different, separate from her.

Was she feeling what Max was feeling?

" _But, what about Rachel, what about what you said to her…what she said to you?"_

Chloe looked over at Rachel again. It felt wrong talking about her while she was right between them.

" _I…I meant that, too. Ugh! I don't know Max, I'm confused. And I'm an idiot."_

" _You're not an idiot, Chloe…"_

Chloe felt sympathy now. Which in turn made her feel guilty for putting Max through all of this.

" _Look, all I know is that I still love you, and I promise you my life is so much better when you're around. Trust me, I went 5 years without you, I would know. So, we'll figure this out…somehow."_

She felt comfort, but she wasn't sure if it was hers or Max's. Either way, it was nice.

" _Okay,"_ Max thought, pausing for a minute before asking, _"And what do you think Rachel will think of all of this, about our…me kissing you?"_

"It's so fucking hot!" Rachel shouted suddenly.

Chloe swerved on the road. The sound of a voice speaking out loud startling her almost as much as what it had said.

It looked like Max was surprised, too, as she had turned even redder than usual, and dropped the water bottle she was nursing out the open window.

"Wh-what?" Chloe stammered.

"It's burning up in here! Can't we go for a dip in the ocean or something?" Rachel said, attempting to stretch her demure frame out in the cramped cab.

Chloe almost burst out laughing, and she felt relief from Max in the other seat.

"Fuck you, Rachel, you scared the shit out of me!" Chloe yelled.

"Well, maybe if our nerves weren't melting you wouldn't be so on edge." Rachel shrugged.

"We can't go to the beach, our clothes still smell like Chlorine from the pool, you really want them smelling like saltwater and fish piss?" Chloe fired back.

"Well, considering we're all drenched in sweat, I can't imagine its going to make much of a difference"

"We're not stopping yet, we'll find a place to shower when we park for the night." Chloe said with a finality, it was a strange sensation, winning an argument like this, but Chloe thought that swimming half naked in the ocean with the two of them right now wouldn't help anything.

A cold shower sounded like a much better solution.

"Fine," Rachel huffed, beginning to fiddle with the radio again, "But if we find we find a Radio Shack, I get the AUX."

She was back to her teasing self. She kissed Chloe quickly on the cheek before returning to the radio static.

Silence settled on the car again.

" _That was close,"_ Max sent to her, after a moment.

" _Yeah, sorry about that,"_

There was another pause.

Chloe looked over at Max, she was staring at her over Rachel's shoulder.

Chloe didn't need weird mind powers to guess what she was feeling.

"So, how are we going to tell her?"

Chloe heard Max's voice ask this. Only it wasn't in her head, and Max's lips weren't moving.

The sound came from the radio, choked by static.

Chloe and Max Froze.

Rachel was staring at the radio, then leaned back to look at Max, then Chloe.

"So, uh, anyone wanna tell me what that's about?" She asked.


	4. Friend, Make Sense of Me

Chapter 4: Friend, Make Sense of Me

Amber

"Telepathy?" Rachel posited. "You're serious?"

She looked at the other two incredulously.

Chloe shrugged sheepishly at her.

Max looked her shoes, clutching her own arm to her body like a security blanket.

They were all standing in the middle of the coastal highway. Chloe had pulled over after the revelation.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me, first Max can rewind time and now you both get unlimited talk and text on your frontal lobe," Rachel continued, "Starting to feel a little left out her, gals."

"Well, you can do that weird thing with the, like, elements and stuff," Chloe interjected, "Like with the fire, or that rain thing,"

"Yeah, if anyone should feel powerless, it's Chloe!" Max squeaked.

"Hey! Watch it Caulfield, I may not have heat vision, but I tackle like a linebacker." Chloe said.

"That's not what I meant!" Rachel groaned, frustrated.

They weren't getting it. It wasn't the powers.

Rising in her stomach was the familiar urge of restlessness. She didn't know how to handle herself when she was feeling something she didn't want to be feeling. So, she did what she always did.

She ran away.

"Look, I'm tired of being cramped up in that truck like a prize goldfish, I'm going to the beach." Rachel decided.

"Fine, let me grab my stuff," Chloe sighed.

"No, it's fine. I just need some time to think." Rachel stopped her.

"Rachel," Chloe started.

"I just need a minute, Chloe."

She was stern, absolute.

She knew she was being unreasonable and that frustrated her more.

She just felt uncomfortable, and she wanted to wash it all away.

Wash that and this weird new development away. Things had been good there for a second, right? Almost…Normal?

But now, things were changing again, and she didn't like it. There was nothing she could do to stop it and that terrified her. She felt that feeling rising inside of her and she knew what was coming.

Rachel didn't want to stick around to grab anything from the truck, so she tried to keep her composure until she was down the steep embankment of the beachhead and onto the sand and out of sight.

The she let the feeling take a vice grip on her lungs, as she suddenly struggled for breath. All of her limbs felt wrong, and so she ran, desperate to shake the feeling, or to distance herself from what was causing it, but the sand shifted beneath her feet with each step, further robbing her from the stability she was grasping at so desperately.

Her hands moved to her face, and found it wet, but she hadn't noticed herself crying, or that the moisture had blurred her eyesight. As she stumbled forward, she wiped her eyes, she could make out a grotto, further down the coastline under the cliff face the road traveled up. She focused all her remaining control on reaching it.

When she arrived, she let herself collapse onto the sand, pulling her knees in to her chest, attempting to compress the feeling, to entomb it back inside her instead of expelling it. All it managed to do was make her shake under its power.

Along with it came the thoughts, the questions:

 _What did the connection mean?_

 _Why did Max get it and not her?_

She began tapping her nails on her upper arm, hoping the rhythm would calm her.

 _What had they been talking about before she'd caught the frequency?_

 _Was it her?_

She gripped her arm with her fingers, hoping the pressure would comfort her?

 _Were they making fun of her?_

 _Did they only bring her along because she was the poor, dead girl?_

She dug her fingers into her arm, hoping the pain would distract her.

 _Is that the only reason Chloe loved her?_

 _DID Chloe love her?_

If it hurt, she couldn't tell.

 _Was she going to lose Chloe again, lose them both, and this life they were making?_

 _They were all probably better off without her anyway._

"Ow!" She inhaled, as she removed her nails from her skin, watching the little crescents they left behind turn red and leak rivers from their mouths flowing gently down.

The sea was turbulent in front of her crashing together with deafening rumbles.

She was never really sure what was going to cause the attacks, just that when they came, she had to be ready. Ready to get away. To hide. No one could see her lose control like this.

Rachel Amber didn't lose control.

In front of anyone but Chloe, that is. But that had been a mistake, Chloe had looked scared, or concerned, or hurt every time. Rachel wanted Chloe to look at her and see comfort, a place to lay her head, not claw marks and shaky hands.

She shook silently, but her senses were coming back to her.

The sea calmed.

Yet, she heard rushing water. Not just the alternation of the tide in front of her, but the unmistakable sound of moving water crashing to itself.

She was drawn to it.

She planted herself on feet without constitution, buckling beneath her, much like the sand they, in turn, resided on. But she rose anyway.

Every sensation was overwhelming right now.

The sound was thunderous.

The smell pungent.

The sea breeze a gale eroding her face away.

She felt so unsafe. She wrapped her arms tight around herself, striving for warmth and pressure.

She longed for the bed in the tent, with Chloe's arms around her, like they had been in her bedroom that night at her house.

That was the first time she had felt safe in her whole life.

She would settle for a shower, but that, too, seemed impossible given the circumstances.

That is until she crested the small incline inside the grotto.

She saw a large circular outcropping carved into the cliff by time and pressure, and of course by the rush of water falling from a ledge above her.

A beautiful, powerful waterfall occupied the center of the space, the epicenter of a crater of shimmering, light blue water. The low, late day sun threw light through it like a projector through a silver screen, casting brilliant crackling reflections onto the wall of the cave. Putting Plato's eponymous allegory to shame.

Rachel stood a moment, watching the freshwater collide with the ocean, swirling on impact. Two segregated entities propelled into each other by a force beyond their control, managing to coalesce into something more beautiful than the sum of its parts.

That alone comforted her in a small way.

She stepped forward and felt the soft spray off the wet rocks as the water glanced them.

Chloe had promised her a shower.

And this was a hell of a shower.

She made up her mind, and carefully removed her borrowed clothes, setting them on the driest rock formations she could find.

The sand felt warm and welcoming under her feet, much like the embrace of the California summer she was surrounded in. However, she feared the water itself would not share the same courtesy.

Thus, she extended a probing toe into the shimmering pool, disrupted its likely years old rhythm.

Rachel found the water cool, but not frigid and decided to step into it.

Her naked skin alternatively kissed by the West Coast sun and the gentle mist of the cascade.

She closed her eyes, still trying to shed her discomfort and anxiety.

She stepped forward into the waters.

It fell on her all at once. It had looked so gentle, but the pressure was massive. She struggled to stay standing under its onslaught, but it wasn't altogether unpleasant.

Her hair clung hard against her back, and she ran her fingers through it, separating the strands.

The water was purifying, it embraced her in every movement.

She felt like a nymph.

She felt better.

The effort she put into staying erect made her feel powerful and in control, while the force of the water grounded her and reminded her of reality.

Over the roar of the water around her, she barely heard what sounded like a squeak.

She opened her eyes, letting her head part the waters falling around her.

She saw through the streams a figure standing on solid ground.

It was Max.

Even through the water, and the hands Max was covering her face with, Rachel could still see Max's telltale blush.

Rachel giggled, some of her lost confidence running back to her.

She always did better when she had an audience, especially after realizing her nakedness.

She stepped from under the waterfall's protection and back into the cave.

She made a show of stretching her hair out and then wringing it, letting her long locks fall behind her.

"Come on in the water's fine" Rachel teased.

She wasn't sure if Max even liked girls, but it didn't change the fact that Rachel never failed to get her cheeks red, she wished to God she could have Chloe's telepathy right now, to read what was going through her head.

But Rachel knew just when teasing became strutting, and, knowing Max wasn't going to take her offer, donned her clothes again.

She took a seat at the water's edge and looked back at Max.

"Will you join me here, then?" She asked.

Max looked like she was coming around and shuffled forward to sit beside her.

"I'm sorry," Max says soon after.

Rachel made a kind of wave motion with her hand, dismissing the apology.

"Nah, you didn't do anything. I just…" Rachel tried her best to think of some way to explain, when she herself wasn't sure what she was feeling. "Did Chloe ever tell you how we met?"

Max shook her head.

"It was at a rock show. Surprising, I know," Rachel laughed. "Chloe had pissed off these punks somehow, right? Spilled their beer or something. I stepped in to help scare them off, and then we ran, trying to get as far away as possible. After that, I made every excuse I could to get Chloe into trouble with me,"

It was a fond set of memories. One Rachel had been holding on to for a long time, her most sacred treasures.

"You know, I saw it, the first time you saw Chloe after you came back? I was already…" Rachel made a choking sound and drew a line across her neck. Max grimaced, "I saw that asshole, Nathan with a gun, and I thought for sure he was gonna kill her, too."

Rachel paused, she saw sorrowful remembrance dance across Max's pupils. She guessed this was a memory she visited often, too.

"But you saved her," Rachel added, "Really saved her, not in the same way I did. You moved time itself to save her, and you didn't even know it was her. You did that for a stranger."

Rachel paused again, knowing where she had to go with this conversation, the feeling she had just drowned bubbling up again.

"I knew what I was doing. I had been watching Chloe for a while, I followed her to that show. I wanted something from her, even if I wasn't sure what it was. So, I watched, and I waited. Waited for my chance to be a hero. Her hero."

She turned her attention back to the girl beside her. She was listening intently, a pure, uninfluenced concern in her eyes. Rachel felt jealous of it.

"But you…you're just a hero, Max." Rachel told her, that feeling boiling over, tainting her speech with emotion, "An 'everyday hero' as bad as it sounds now. You're a better person than I am. Sure, I was there for here in one of the hardest parts of her life. I fell in love with her, but I wasn't good enough for her."

Rachel gasped a breath in, Max looked terrified, but Rachel couldn't stop this coming, not so soon after the last one.

"There were times when I used her, you saw how I abandoned her. Fuck, the stupid fire I started burned down the place we met."

"Rachel, that's not…" Max tried to interject, but Rachel couldn't be calmed. She was gasping in between lines, tears streaking her already wet face.

"You know, when I saw Chloe in that bathroom with Nathan…I was so selfish. I actually felt relieved when he was pointing that gun at her. Because, it meant I would finally be with her again. How fucked up is that?" Rachel was shaking.

"You're with her now." Max said firmly. Rachel stopped for a second. She hadn't ever heard this strength in Max's voice before. "And you make her happy."

Something about Max's voice, and what she was saying calmed Rachel. She shook softly in the sand, sniffling as she listened.

"You shouldn't worry about being good enough for Chloe because no one is. Certainly not me," Max continued, "I hurt her, too. I left her, too. And if you'll remember you were who she turned to when I was gone. You may have had complicated reasons, but at the end of the day, you were there for her when I couldn't be, and I will always be grateful to you for that."

" _Wow,"_ Rachel thought, _"Max really cares about Chloe. Is she going through all of this with me for her sake or mine? She seems so genuine. So real. Like she cares about me, too."_

It felt nice. Max caring about her. It made her feel important.

"And I have you to thank for the same thing," Rachel returned, "Even if I was dead for some of it."

Max gave an awkward smile, clearly unsure how to respond to that. Rachel wanted to be closer to her, so she extended an arm, inviting Max in.

Max took it and the two leaned on each other, watching the water displace.

Rachel couldn't help wishing she'd had Max around before. Maybe things would've turned out different.

"How about we both accept that no one's good enough for Chloe, and hope that combined, we come close." Rachel proposes.

Max laughs. "I can live with that."

But Rachel feels her tense. She can't shake the feeling that Max is still holding something back.

Rachel wonders why Chloe never fell for Max. She thinks as she focuses on the smaller girl pressed to her shoulder. She was beautiful, of course, and talented, and kind. And most of all she had a realness to her that Rachel had never seen in a person. Something Rachel craved so desperately. It drew Rachel to her. It was what had compelled her to make the photo board for her, to always strive to include her. Max had a way of making Rachel want to make her happy, want to experience happiness with her.

" _Almost like I feel with Chloe,"_ Rachel thought, _"But I can't feel that way about Max, I love Chloe more than anything in the world. Maybe in another timeline, things could've been different, but not now. Now, I have everything I could ever want in Chloe. For now, Max is just a best friend…A cute best friend."_

She felt a tinge of guilt at that last part but shook it off.

After all, these were just her thoughts.

Price

Chloe was freaking out.

But also bored.

And hot.

When the hell were they coming back?

And what was taking them so long?

Since Max had run after Rachel, there had been 3 discrete times Chloe had jumped determinedly from the truck, decisively charging after her companions before wilting under the late day sun and Max's reassurance that she had things under control.

So, again and again she returned to the relative coolness of her truck.

Really, when were they coming back?

Were they talking about her?

Were they fighting?

Were they laughing?

Were they laughing at her?

What if they hated each other?

Or if they liked each other?

What if they were kissing…

No, that was ridiculous. Still, it filled Chloe with a cocktail of emotions. Including a strange two-sided jealousy, and hint of a feeling that made waiting even more uncomfortable.

It also made her ask herself more questions about what she was going to do about her…predicament.

If Rachel had gotten this upset about her and Max's "mind link", how was she going to react to their kiss?

Chloe laid crossways on the truck's seat and huffed. What kind of weird alien experiment was this? Just torturing a poor lesbian with two best friends in love with her.

Chloe hoped Rachel was ok.

She hoped Max was, too.

They both seemed to be going through a lot in this new world, it made Chloe feel guilty for being upset.

She started to question if she was the problem. She was certainly the common denominator. Maybe she was the thing fucking up everyone else's happiness.

She wished to her alien overlord that her superpower could be to stop disappointing the people she cared about.

But that was unrealistic, even for a superpower.

She wished she at least had the power to make Max and Rachel happy. That was all she could hope for.

But even that seemed impossible.

 _Crackle._

Her ruminations were suddenly interrupted by the static of the radio.

She sat up to hear what message it had to deliver.

"… _Lm-ike I feel with Chloe,"_ It was Rachel's voice.

Chloe wondered if it was picking up her thoughts now.

"… _But I can't feel that way about Max, I love Chloe more than anything in the world."_

Chloe froze. She felt all the moisture leave her throat suddenly.

" _Maybe in another timeline, things could've been different, but not now. Now, I have everything I could ever want in Chloe."_

The radio trailed off. That was it, one sentence, but so much implied in its message now hung in the cab of the truck that it suffocated Chloe like the thick, humid air.

Chloe was dumbstruck. She couldn't make sense of this. She didn't know how to feel. She wasn't even sure if this was a good or bad thing.

Before she was able to decipher it, however, she heard Max and Rachel's voices approaching from the ridge.

She scrambled to an upright position as if she was caught in a lie.

Rachel was smiling. So was Max, that was a good sign. Maybe.

Rachel's hair was wet. Maybe she had gone swimming, which meant their makeshift pirate ship was going to smell real authentic soon.

"Hey, Chloe! I found that shower," Rachel yelled. "Hope you don't mind I got first go."

Chloe wasn't sure exactly what she meant, but it made her feel better to hear the warmth in Rachel's voice again.

"I'm sorry, Chlo," Rachel continued, "Think I just restless."

Chloe considered.

"I don't accept your apology," Chloe teased, "on account of you inviting Max to shower with you and not me."

Max predictably froze and reddened.

Rachel and Chloe laughed.

The group decided the two remaining girls would take turns at the waterfall before they all turned in for the night. Max went first, after a decisive victory over Chloe in Rock Paper Scissors, giving Rachel and Chloe a chance to talk alone.

They decided to sit on the hood of the truck and stargaze, as it was the first time the sky had been clear in a while.

It was beautiful. Even with the LA lights so close by, the stars off the coast were breathtaking. Chloe suddenly felt a welcome presence slide onto her shoulder, as Rachel's long hair swung over and draped her arm.

Her head laid so gentle on her shoulder that it felt weightless, like a spirit passing through her.

Rachel's slender fingers probed their way through the space between Chloe's arm and chest letting wrap her arms around Chloe's.

"You know this reminds me of that night," Rachel said, "In my room. When I was lost in space, so you brought the stars to me and held me while I found my way home."

Rachel tightened her grip.

"I've never felt that secure in my whole life," She continued, "I…felt really lost today. But I never stopped thinking about that moment. Hell, I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened. Even…at the end. It was the last thing I thought about."

Her breath hitched. Chloe could feel a lump in her throat, but she didn't want to get caught up in it again, she wanted to be strong for Rachel right now, to keep making her feel safe.

"It was kind of like a lullaby you remember from when you were a kid, "Rachel said, "All things considered it wasn't the worst thing in the world to fall asleep to."

Chloe felt the silence pressing in her ears after this confession.

She cursed herself.

She never knew what to say in moments like this. She had so much she wanted to say, but she could never put it into words.

Maybe she was thinking too much. She should just do what comes naturally, right?

She leaned back slowly against the windshield, pulling Rachel with her. She pulled Rachel's head against her chest, feeling the other girl's surprise turn to trusting compliance.

Chloe entangled her legs with Rachel's, rooting them both.

Then, the words came.

"Lucky for you, you don't have to remember. You get to fall asleep with the real deal, under the real stars, from now on, every night."

Chloe didn't know where that came from. But she meant it, and it felt right to say.

Rachel was speechless; clearly as surprised with Chloe's sudden eloquence as she was.

After a moment, she managed, "Forever?"

"As long as there's still stars up there to look at."

Chloe felt embarrassed as soon as she said it. She was surprised Rachel didn't burst out laughing but instead, she just felt her breathing hitch.

"…Is Max tuning in right now," Rachel asked.

"No, why?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Because I'm about to kiss you, Chloe Price, and right now, I want this moment to be just ours."

Before Chloe could comprehend this, Rachel had rolled on top of her and crashed her lips against Chloe's. Rachel's body perfectly contorted to Chloe's and she wrapped her arms around her back, pulling her further in. Chloe could feel the pure trust and security in their touch. She knew that she'd do anything for Rachel, and vice versa, but it was more than that. She knew that they both had each other. That they'd always be together. That nothing could tear them apart.

Rachel broke the kiss all too soon and locked eyes with Chole, the moonlight refracting off the small droplets dotting the blonde girl's eyes.

"That may have been the most romantic shit I've ever heard, but you'd better believe I'm holding you to it." Rachel said.

Chloe relaxed into a smile.

"Of course, I'm not going anywhere." She replied.

Chloe felt a tinge of guilt having this exchange when Max wasn't here. Looking at Rachel, she could tell something was bothering her, too.

She wondered if it's about what she heard earlier. She decided it was better not to dig into it and spoil the moment, and instead pulled Rachel back into her chest.

Soon after, Max returned, sufficiently cleansed. The two girls rose slightly at her return.

"Come join the cuddle puddle, Max!" Rachel cooed.

Chloe made eye contact with Max.

"… _That would be a bad idea, right?"_ She heard Max think, reminding Chloe of the whole telepathy thing.

" _It might be a tad awkward, huh?"_ Chloe sent back.

Rachel seemed to notice the exchange.

"Gossip is the lowest form of flattery, you know," She said, "You can talk about how great I am out loud, thank you."

Chloe laughed, glad Rachel was taking this better, but she was right, it was wrong to exclude Rachel from their conversations, but what would they tell her?

"I was just telling Chloe she needed to take her turn in the shower before she's getting any of these snuggles." Max says coolly.

Rachel busts into laughter, resulting in Chloe pushing her away.

"Careful, you dicks, I can make you sleep on the roof, you know." Chloe pouted.

However, she does as she is bid, hopping off the truck and heading down the ridge, leaving Max and Rachel alone once more.

It was dark now, so Chloe found herself stumbling around in the sand. She thought she was never going to find the cove her friends had described to her. However, she eventually heard rushing water further down the coastline. When she crested the cove's entrance, she was stunned. The powerful tranquility of the fall itself was beautiful, but the way the moonlight dimly bathed the area in cool, blue light, interspersed with the warm, flashbulb interruptions of hundreds of fireflies captivated Chloe. The lightning bugs' suddenly flarings reminded her of Max and her camera. She thought that they, too, captured moments in time, this moment at the very least.

Remembering her purpose in being here, Chloe haphazardly shed her clothing in the sand and bounded forward, relishing in the tactile sensation of the still warm sand on her feet.

However, the second she reached the water she was bludgeoned by the realization that the sun was no longer out, and the rushing water was frigid. She felt her ribcage compress painfully in the new temperature, but the water was encompassing her now, and there was no use turning back.

So, she stood with her arms wrapped around herself, willing her body to adjust to the cold. Eventually it did, and she opened her torso to the cascade, letting it fully connect with her. It felt nice, especially considering the heat she'd spent all day in.

As she bathed, she reflected on her situation. On her feelings for both Rachel and Max. There was a passion in Rachel that made her excited to be alive, but also a comfort that reminded her to treasure every second she was. With Max, she had such a familiarity that she felt like they were inseparable partners, but enough mystery and curiosity to ensure Max would never stop making her a better person.

They'd both been there for here through some of the hardest shit she'd ever faced.

They'd both saved her.

The moment she had just shared with Rachel made her want to spend every day of the rest of her life with her.

But…that last week in Arcadia Bay had made her feel the same way about Max, or had reaffirmed her always feeling that way.

She couldn't imagine living her life without either of them.

So, what was she supposed to do?

 _Click._

A sound that Chloe had grown very accustomed to roused her from her thoughts. She instinctively covered herself, as she assumed the camera shutter was Rachel and Max striking blackmail gold.

But as she stepped out of the waterfall, the cove was still empty.

Chloe knew that could only mean one thing.

Her suspicion was confirmed as a large ethereal portrait spanned the back wall of the cave.

Depicted on it was a beanie with a skull and cross bones emblazoned on its front, one Chloe had owned as a kid.

Chloe quickly dressed and approached the membranous surface.

She hesitated. She considered calling for Max. She had no way of knowing if she, too, was able to access these. But, if that were the case, why would it have appeared to just her. Regardless, she wished she wasn't alone.

Nonetheless, she extended an unsure hand into the portal. She found that it rippled, just as the others had done.

She sighed deeply, resigning herself to this strange, new fate and stepped forward.

The thunderous crashing of the waterfall disappeared, and Chloe found herself standing in the middle of an upscale apartment.

She didn't recognize it, which meant this had to be someone else's memory.

She scanned the room for some clue as to whose.

The apartment, while nice, was in disarray, stacks of sorted objects sat around as if someone who was cleaning it had been interrupted. She vaguely heard the sound of cooking somewhere nearby.

However, to her left, in a large bathroom, she saw a figure which caught her eye. It was a woman doing her makeup. She was wrapped in an elegant and distinctly flattering red dress. Long, blonde hair obscured her face from view, but Chloe craned her neck to see her reflection in the mirror.

It was Rachel.

Or, at least, Chloe thought it was.

However, her guess was confirmed when she spotted a single blue feather dangling from her ear.

But something was different. She was much older, probably her late 20's or early 30's.

Chloe is confused, so she approaches the older Rachel to investigate.

During her advance, Chloe is surprised when this Rachel looks up directly at her and smiles a familiar smile.

" _Wait, what?"_ Chloe thought, _"I thought I was supposed to be invisible in these things."_

Grown-up Rachel put down the mascara brush she'd been using and sauntered forward, closing the remaining distance to Chloe. When she reached her, she put her hands around Chloe's waist, never breaking eye contact.

Chloe felt a Max-like blush forming in her cheeks; between the dress, the touch, and that fucking look in her eyes, Chloe thought she was going to melt from the attraction she felt.

Which was weird, because this Rachel had, like, 10 years on her.

"You're dressed to kill today, Chlo." Rachel cooed at her, "Your hair could use some work, though."

She bent forward and planted a light kiss on Chloe's forehead, then let out a giggle that reminded Chloe that this was definitely still her Rachel.

Chloe looked down at herself, curious as to Rachel's meaning. She found she was wearing a suit.

And killing it, she would add.

She noticed, though, that her body, too looked different.

It seemed she had aged, too.

She looked back up into Rachel's eyes. She felt her heart grow warm at the sight of this beautiful women, who even after all this time looked at her like she was special. Looked at her with that kind of love.

And Chloe thought, _"This is it. This is the future I want. Or at least, I think it is. But…"_

She let the thought die before it could taint this moment.

However, her attention was drawn back into the apartment proper by a sudden series of sounds. She turned to see another figure.

It was Max.

She was clad in a stunning skirt and blazer combo that suits her in a way that Chloe found almost off-putting, and made Chloe seriously doubt Max picked this out for herself.

She also looked older, about Rachel's age, somehow maintaining her innocent countenance while also looking much more matured. Wizened, maybe.

Max was frantically scouring the apartment carrying a portfolio. She shoved papers from the apartment into it in a frenzy. As she popped back up from behind a sofa, she saw Chloe.

"Oh! Chloe. You look great." Max was blushing, but she her words are confident and comfortable in a way that had as strong an effect on Chloe as Rachel's attention had.

"Except the hair," Max added with a smirk. "I managed to throw together some breakfast, Its not as good as yours is, but it should get us through till lunch."

This exchange flooded Chloe with joy.

She had never imagined herself as a domestic person, but something about just spending everyday moments together with Max, made excitement bubble up inside her, along with the urge to wrap Max up in a bear hug.

But…why was she being shown this?

It was just making her decision harder, it wasn't answering anything.

She wanted both of these futures.

"Seriously Chloe, you need to get moving or we're going to be late." Max called to her as she continued her search and rescue mission in the living room.

As she was about to walk towards Max to help, she felt a warm hand slide along the small of her back and pull her in.

"Let's not forget the only reason we're running behind is because Sleeping Beauty wanted to cuddle just a little bit longer," Rachel teased in her ear.

Chloe felt a chill down her spine as realization overcame her.

They were _both_ here.

"Good morning, Rachel," Max said, finally closing her portfolio.

"Good morning yourself, Maxie," Rachel said, pulling Max in with her free hand and meeting Max's lips with her own, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

It was _not_ the most normal thing in the world for Chloe, who felt her heart stop at the sight.

Max was blushing again, but she didn't seem to act like it was a big deal and merely brushed past them both to the bathroom to adjust her hair.

Chloe expected to feel…something else.

But all she felt was warm.

Like this was right.

She'd spent so much of her life trying to figure out what it was that she wanted, where she wanted to end up.

This was it.

No doubts, no worries.

She wanted this.

Max emerged from the bathroom and presented herself to Chloe and Rachel, who was still clinging to Chloe's side.

"Stunning, Caulfield." Rachel said, gripping Chloe's waist.

Max walked past the two of them to the apartment's entrance and opened the door.

The doorframe was an ethereal sheet of pure white.

Chloe knew it was time to go.

But she didn't want to. She wanted to stay here forever.

"After you, ladies." Max said, gesturing through the door.

Rachel giggled again and pranced through the veil.

"Hurry up, bedhead!" She heard Rachel's voice call.

The scene made Chloe's heart ache.

She took another look at Max, who was grinning at her goofily.

A smile cracked across Chloe's face, as she reluctantly stepped forward.

As she expected, she was back at the waterfall.

She felt cold.

Like a hand that's been held for hours, suddenly left alone.

She reflected on all she had seen. If anything, it had confused her further.

It was impossible.

Right?

She wrapped her arms around herself again and trudged through the sand back to the truck, wondering the whole way what bittersweet visions she'd seen.

As she reached the top of the ridge, she saw her companions had abandoned the hood.

Upon closer inspection, she found the cab empty as well.

Panic gripped her briefly, before she heard rustling in the bed.

She slid into the truck, before popping her head through the divider.

She found Rachel leaning up against the back of the cab, her legs spread out on the mattress.

Max was lying beside her, her head rustling softly on Rachel's lap.

Rachel turned at her entrance.

"Took you long enough in there, Price. Have fun?" Rachel whispered suggestively.

Chloe understood her implication but was too distracted to find a comeback.

"Hey, I don't judge," Rachel continued, "Provided of course you were thinking of me."

Chloe flipped her off playfully, to which Rachel responded, "Only one?"

"Rachel, I swear, I will make you sleep outside," Chloe growled.

"You wouldn't wake this one up on my account, would you?" Rachel asked, "She wanted to wait up for you, but even time powers can't beat the siren call of a nap on the world's softest lap."

Chloe laughed dryly, looking alternatively between Rachel and Max.

"You ok, Chlo?" Rachel said, "Looks like you saw a ghost."

"Not exactly…" Chloe replied.

"Hey," Rachel said suddenly, pointing at Max's camera bag, which lay open beside the mattress, "Max wanted us to take a picture when you got back, but clearly, she didn't get the chance."

"And you never pass up a photo op, of course," Chloe sighed climbing into the truck bed, "but I'll take it. This is definitely a night I want to remember."

Chloe angled the camera back at the three of them, putting her finger and her thumb in the shape of an L on Max's sleepy forehead.

The shutter clicked.

"You're literally 8 years old," Rachel said.

"I'm never growing up, Wendy." Chloe replied. She set the camera aside and clipped the new picture up on one of the pieces of clothesline.

Rachel carefully slid down onto the bed, transplanting Max from her lap to her chest.

Then, she patted the bed on her other side.

Chloe took the signal and climbed over the pair to the other side.

She nuzzled into Rachel's side and laid her head on the remaining space on Rachel's chest.

She thought about making a joke about how there was plenty of room on it, but she decided some moments should remain unspoiled by bad comedy.

Rachel must not have thought so, as she broke the silence.

"I feel like Scarface," She said.

Chloe punched her softly on the arm.

"Ow! Stop, you're going to wake Max!" She hissed.

Chloe snuggles back into her, smiling in the darkness, reflecting on all she had seen.

It was a good dream to have.

Maybe this wasn't a problem.

Maybe it was an opportunity.

She decided that was cheesy, and snuggled in closer to Rachel, before drifting off, hoping to find another dream like this one.


End file.
